Over at The Pirate Tree, a website focused on social justice and children’s literature, J.L. Powers has interviewed me about Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter. I enjoyed talking about some of the themes that have always been a deep part of the stories for me, but that don’t always come up in interviews: war and conflict, us vs. them dynamics, environmental issues, and so on.
You can read the interview–and Jessica’s thoughts on the books–here: Environment, War, and Fantasy: Janni Lee Simner’s Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter
When I started writing the Faerie books, I think a part of me wanted straightforward answers. I wanted my characters to eventually find a way of saying, “And now, with all we’ve learned, we’re going to see to it for certain that tragedies like the war never happen again”–even though we’ve never yet managed that in our own world. But my characters, who so often understand my stories better than I do, wouldn’t let me get away with that.”
Rachel Ann Hanley also talks a little about the Faerie books’ us vs. them issues–from the point of view of the characters’ relationships–in her review of Faerie Winter.
And I answered more questions about my books over at Tattoo Girl Reads.